In recent years, cards are used in various fields; proposed variously are manual card processing devices in which cards are operated by hand for processing information recorded on the cards. Among such manual card readers, there is a type of card reader in which cards are inserted into a card insertion slot provided to the card reader, pushed all the way inside, and pulled out so that the card reader reads/writes information from/on the cards. Such a card processing device may have a lock mechanism which locks the cards inserted into the device. For example, Patent reference 1 suggests a card processing device in which a sensor arranged in the IC chip unit is activated when a card is inserted in a card guiding passage, a motor starts rotating accompanied by the rotation of a clank fixed to a motor shaft, and then a lock lever connected with the clank is moved diagonally to lock the card.
Also, Patent reference 2 suggests a card processing device having a beam which opens the card passage by pushing a nail protruding into the card passage and blocking it so that the lock mechanism will not be unlocked even when a card is pulled out during the data processing, or the lock mechanism will be unlocked when the card is pulled out after the data processing.
Also, at game centers and casinos, there may be a system that gives points or manages the play status according to the duration of the play time measured by the time a user's (player's) card is kept in the card processing device. For such a case, in order to prevent the user from forgetting to pull out the card from the card processing device or to prevent the card from being stolen, a hole is punched out in one end of the card and a chain, cord or string is put through the hole so that the card can be tied to the user when in use.
Patent reference 1: Japanese Patent Application Tokkai 2000-259777 Unexamined Publication
Patent reference 2: Japanese Patent Application Tokkai 2005-44063 Unexamined Publication
In the above case, a card is tied to a user (player) and therefore there are few problems such as lost or stolen cards; therefore, the card processing device to which a card is inserted needs to be structured such that the card is inserted to a predetermined position and held there firmly enough not to be easily pulled out by the motion of the user (player) during the operation, and also such that the insertion and removal of the card is easy. It is a demand that such card processing devices not be complicated or expensive but be inexpensive and easy to maintain.
In the card processing devices proposed in the above Patent references 1 and 2, cards can be held firmly inside the card processing device, but cannot be removed easily, and more components are required, thus making it difficult to downsize and increasing cost of the device. Also, the device structure is complicated; therefore, when the lock mechanism is broken or damaged, it is difficult to repair or replace it, requiring higher cost. When the lock mechanism is driven electrically, current consumption is increased.
At least an embodiment of the present invention provides a card processing device in which a card inserted to a predetermined position is held firmly enough not to be easily pulled out by the user's motion during the operation, cards can be inserted and removed easily, the device can be manufactured inexpensively and its maintenance is easy.